THE WORLD SERIES : New York Mets vs. Boston Red Sox : THE MATCHUPS

FIRST BASE

Keith Hernandez of the Mets is far and away the best defensive first baseman in the game today, perhaps ever. And before the NL playoffs began, even Astro Manager Hal Lanier called him one of the best clutch hitters in baseball.

Bill Buckner, Hernandez’s equal at the plate, is so badly hobbled by knee and ankle injuries, he can barely field his position. Don’t expect too many unassisted putouts at first.

Without the injuries, Buckner would rate a close second. With them, Hernandez has the edge.

SECOND BASE

With his .367 batting average and five RBIs, Marty Barrett was named the MVP of the AL playoffs. A good fielder, he gives the Red Sox what little speed they possess.

The Mets platoon Wally Backman against right-handed pitchers and Tim Teufel against lefties, so Backman will get most of the playing time. Backman is a much-improved fielder and, like Barrett, a sparkplug-type player.

Under normal circumstances, this would rate a tossup, but because Barrett is hot, he gets the edge.

SHORTSTOP

The Red Sox acquired Spike Owen for his glove. At times spectacular, he has had trouble with some of the routine plays this season. He committed five errors in the playoffs but atoned for it with a .429 batting average.

The Mets’ Rafael Santana has developed into an above-average shortstop--not particularly athletic, but fluid. Santana won’t give the Mets as much offense as Owen will give Boston, although the big playoff average was a fluke, but he will make up for it with his glove.

Call this even, especially since the whole series will be played on grass.

THIRD BASE

Most people would give AL batting champion Wade Boggs of Boston a big edge. They would be wrong.

Ray Knight is the heart and soul of the Mets, more so than Hernandez, more so than Gary Carter. He epitomizes the guts and the competitive fire of the club and, as such, he represents a very formidable force on a very successful team. Boggs is not made of such stuff.

Knight is a better fielder than Boggs and while Boggs may get more hits, Knight’s will count for more.

In a minority opinion, give the edge to Knight.

CATCHER

Again, a vote of dissent. Carter was one of the best defensive catchers in the game. Was. Rich Gedman of Boston can out-catch, out-throw and maybe even out-hit Carter, the way Carter has been hitting lately.

Red Sox Manager John McNamara once prophesied that Gedman would be the best catcher in the game some day. With Detroit’s Lance Parrish ailing, he’s pretty close right now.

Don’t take anything away from Carter. He could make the difference in this series, but on a hunch that he won’t, Gedman gets the nod.

LEFT FIELD

Jim Rice had a lousy playoff, but he had a great season. There is no doubt that he is one of the game’s premier players, and because of what he can do, he’ll get a bit of an edge here.

The Mets platoon switch-hitter Mookie Wilson against right-handers and rookie Kevin Mitchell against left-handers, so Wilson will get the most playing time. Quick but not the quickest, Wilson is one of the best baserunners in the game and a potential game-breaker. He also plays the position better than either Mitchell or Rice.

Still, it’s impossible not to pick Rice.

CENTER FIELD

There was a day when Tony Armas would have gotten the nod over almost any other center fielder with his combination of speed and power. Both have diminished now, while the Mets’ Lenny Dykstra is on a steep curve to the top.

Dykstra has the potential to be one of the game’s most exciting players. He sure tries hard enough.

Dykstra will sit down against Boston’s lone left-hander, Bruce Hurst, while Wilson moves over from left. Armas often comes out in late innings for Dave Henderson. Both subs are good.

OK, Lenny lovers. Dykstra all the way.

RIGHT FIELD

Darryl Strawberry of the Mets and Dwight Evans of the Red Sox. Not really a contest here. You could break your neck giving the nod to Strawberry.

No knock on Evans. He has great Fenway power and he’s a gamer, but Strawberry will be a big factor in this series. He may not get many hits, but they’ll be big ones--real big ones. He had two homers in the playoffs and both of them tied up games that the Mets went on to win. One broke up a Nolan Ryan no-hitter, no less.

Strawberry need never worry again whether he can produce under the gun.

PITCHING

Roger Clemens had such a great season, they ought to give him the AL Cy Young award and the MVP in both leagues, just because nobody in the NL deserves it.

But the Mets proved to Mike Scott and the Houston Astros that you need more than one pitcher to win a seven-game series. Clemens pitched three times in the playoffs, so he’ll only be able to go twice in the Series, if it goes that far. Hurst and Dennis (Oil Can) Boyd don’t cut it, and the Mets couldn’t find a use for Boston’s bullpen stopper, Calvin Schiraldi, when they had him.

The Mets’ only pitching problem will be which left-hander to start in Fenway, with its short porch in left field. Bob Ojeda, a former Red Sox pitcher, probably will be the one. The Mets used a four-man rotation in the playoffs that also included Ron Darling, Dwight Gooden and Sid Fernandez. Roger McDowell and Jesse Orosco both were excellent in relief.

This is the most lopsided of all the matchups, and the Red Sox are on the wrong side of it.

PREDICTION

The Mets in five, maybe less.

PAST CHAMPIONS

Year Winner Loser 1903 Boston (AL) 5 Pittsburgh (NL) 3 1904 No Series 1905 New York (NL) 4 Philadelphia (AL) 1 1906 Chicago (AL) 4 Chicago (NL) 2 1907* Chicago (NL) 4 Detroit (AL) 0 1908 Chicago (NL) 4 Detroit (AL) 1 1909 Pittsburgh (NL) 4 Detroit (AL) 3 1910 Philadelphia (AL) 4 Chicago (NL) 1 1911 Philadelphia (AL) 4 New York (NL) 2 1912* Boston (AL) 4 New York (NL) 3 1913 Philadelphia (AL) 4 New York (NL) 1 1914 Boston (NL) 4 Philadelphia (AL) 0 1915 Boston (AL) 4 Philadelphia (NL) 1 1916 Boston (AL) 4 Brooklyn (NL) 1 1917 Chicago (AL) 4 New York (NL) 2 1918 Boston (AL) 4 Chicago (NL) 2 1919 Cincinnati NL) 5 Chicago (AL) 3 1920 Cleveland (AL) 5 Brooklyn (NL) 2 1921 New York (NL) 5 New York (AL) 3 1922* New York (NL) 4 New York (AL) 0 1923 New York (AL) 4 New York (NL) 2 1924 Washington (AL) 4 New York (NL) 3 1925 Pittsburgh (NL) 4 Washington (AL) 3 1926 St. Louis (NL) 4 New York (AL) 3 1927 New York (AL) 4 Pittsburgh (NL) 0 1928 New York (AL) 4 St. Louis (NL) 0 1929 Philadelphia (AL) 4 Chicago (NL) 1 1930 Philadelphia (AL) 4 St. Louis (NL) 2 1931 St. Louis (NL) 4 Philadelphia (AL) 3 1932 New York (AL) 4 Chicago (NL) 0 1933 New York (NL) 4 Washington (AL) 1 1934 St. Louis (NL) 4 Detroit (AL) 3 1935 Detroit (AL) 4 Chicago (NL) 2 1936 New York (AL) 4 New York (NL) 2 1937 New York (AL) 4 New York (NL) 1 1938 New York (AL) 4 Chicago (NL) 0 1939 New York (AL) 4 Cincinnati (NL) 0 1940 Cincinnati (NL) 4 Detroit (AL) 3 1941 New York (AL) 4 Brooklyn (NL) 1 1942 St. Louis (NL) 4 New York (AL) 1 1943 New York (AL) 4 St. Louis (NL) 2 1944 St. Louis (NL) 4 St. Louis (AL) 2 1945 Detroit (AL) 4 Chicago (NL) 3 1946 St. Louis (NL) 4 Boston (AL) 3 1947 New York (AL) 4 Brooklyn (NL) 3 1948 Cleveland (AL) 4 Boston (NL) 2 1949 New York (AL) 4 Brooklyn (NL) 1 1950 New York (AL) 4 Philadelphia 0 1951 New York (AL) 4 New York (NL) 2 1952 New York (AL) 4 Brooklyn (NL) 3 1953 New York (AL) 4 Brooklyn (NL) 2 1954 New York (NL) 4 Cleveland (AL) 0 1955 Brooklyn (NL) 4 New York (AL) 3 1956 New York (AL) 4 Brooklyn (NL) 3 1957 Milwaukee (NL) 4 New York (AL) 3 1958 New York (AL) 4 Milwaukee (NL) 3 1959 Los Angeles (NL) 4 Chicago (AL) 2 1960 Pittsburgh (NL) 4 New York (AL) 3 1961 New York (AL) 4 Cincinnati (NL) 1 1962 New York (AL) 4 San Francisco (NL) 3 1963 Los Angeles (NL) 4 New York (AL) 0 1964 St. Louis (NL) 4 New York (AL) 3 1965 Los Angeles (NL) 4 Minnesota (AL) 3 1966 Baltimore (AL) 4 Los Angeles (NL) 0 1967 St. Louis (NL) 4 Boston (AL) 3 1968 Detroit (AL) 4 St. Louis (NL) 3 1969 New York (NL) 4 Baltimore (AL) 1 1970 Baltimore (AL) 4 Cincinnati (NL) 1 1971 Pittsburgh (NL) 4 Baltimore (AL) 3 1972 Oakland (AL) 4 Cincinnati (NL) 3 1973 Oakland (AL) 4 New York (NL) 3 1974 Oakland (AL) 4 Los Angeles (NL) 1 1975 Cincinnati (NL) 4 Boston (AL) 3 1976 Cincinnati (NL) 4 New York (AL) 0 1977 New York (AL) 4 Los Angeles (NL) 2 1978 New York (AL) 4 Los Angeles (NL) 2 1979 Pittsburgh (NL) 4 Baltimore (AL) 3 1980 Philadelphia (NL) 4 Kansas City (AL) 2 1981 Los Angeles (NL) 4 New York (AL) 2 1982 St. Louis (NL) 4 Milwaukee (AL) 3 1983 Baltimore (AL) 4 Philadelphia (NL) 1 1984 Detroit (AL) 4 San Diego (NL) 1 1985 Kansas City (AL) 4 St. Louis (NL) 3

*The Series of 1907, 1912 and 1922 each had one tie game.

AVERAGE LEADERS

(Minimum 50 At-Bats) AB H Pct Pepper Martin 55 23 .418 Lou Brock 87 34 .391 George Brett 51 19 .373 Thurman Munson 67 25 .373 Hank Aaron 55 20 .364 Frank Baker 91 33 .363 Roberto Clemente 58 21 .362 Lou Gehrig 119 43 .361 Reggie Jackson 98 35 .357 Carl Yastrzemski 54 19 .352

REGULAR SEASON AVERAGES

BOSTON RED SOX

BATTERS AVG AB R H 2B 3B HR BI BB SB E Boggs .357 580 107 207 47 2 8 71 105 0 19 Rice .324 618 98 200 39 2 20 110 62 0 8 Greenwell .314 35 4 11 2 0 0 4 5 0 0 Barrett .286 625 94 179 39 4 4 60 65 15 14 Buckner .267 629 73 168 39 2 18 102 40 6 14 Henderson .265 388 59 103 22 4 15 47 39 2 5 Armas .264 425 40 112 21 4 11 58 24 0 8 Evans .259 529 86 137 33 2 26 97 97 3 5 Gedman .258 462 49 119 29 0 16 65 37 1 6 Baylor .238 585 93 139 23 1 31 94 62 3 1 Owen .231 528 67 122 24 7 1 45 51 4 21 Romero .210 233 41 49 11 0 2 23 18 2 12 Sullivan .193 119 15 23 4 0 1 14 7 0 3 Stapleton .128 39 4 5 1 0 0 3 2 0 0 Totals .271 5498 794 1488 320 21 144 753 595 41 129

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H BB SO Schiraldi 4 2 1.41 25 0 9 51.0 36 15 55 Clemens 24 4 2.48 33 33 0 254.0 179 67 238 Hurst 13 8 2.99 25 25 0 174.1 169 50 167 Boyd 16 10 3.78 30 30 0 214.1 222 45 129 Crawford 0 2 3.92 40 0 4 57.1 69 19 32 Stanley 6 6 4.37 66 1 16 82.1 109 22 54 Stewart 4 1 4.38 27 0 0 63.2 64 48 47 Sambito 2 0 4.84 53 0 12 44.2 54 16 30 Nipper 10 12 5.38 26 26 0 159.0 186 47 79 Lollar 2 0 6.91 32 1 0 43.0 51 34 28 Totals 95 66 3.93 161 161 41 1429.2 1469 474 1033

NEW YORK METS

BATTERS AVG AB R H 2B 3B HR BI BB SB E Backman .320 387 67 124 18 2 1 27 36 13 17 Hernandez .310 551 94 171 34 1 13 83 94 2 5 Knight .298 486 51 145 24 2 11 76 40 2 16 Dykstra .295 431 77 127 27 7 8 45 58 31 3 Wilson .289 381 61 110 17 5 9 45 32 25 5 Heep .282 195 24 55 8 2 5 33 30 1 1 Mitchell .277 328 51 91 22 2 12 43 33 3 10 Hearn .265 136 16 36 5 0 4 10 12 0 3 Strawberry .259 475 76 123 27 5 27 93 72 28 6 Carter .255 490 81 125 14 2 24 105 62 1 9 Teufel .247 279 35 69 20 1 4 31 32 1 9 Johnson .245 220 30 54 14 0 10 39 31 8 20 Mazzilli .245 151 28 37 5 1 3 15 38 4 0 Santana .218 394 38 86 11 0 1 28 36 0 16 Elster .167 30 3 5 1 0 0 0 3 0 2 Totals .263 5558 783 1462 261 31 148 730 631 118 138

PITCHERS W L ERA G GS SV IP H BB SO Orosco 8 6 2.33 58 0 21 81.0 64 35 62 Ojeda 18 5 2.57 32 30 0 217.1 185 52 148 Darling 15 6 2.81 34 34 0 237.0 203 81 184 Gooden 17 6 2.84 33 33 0 250.0 197 80 200 McDowell 14 9 3.02 75 0 22 128.0 107 42 65 Sisk 4 2 3.06 41 0 1 70.2 77 31 31 Fernandez 16 6 3.52 32 31 1 204.1 161 91 200 Niemann 2 3 3.79 31 1 0 35.2 44 12 18 Aguilera 10 7 3.88 28 20 0 141.2 145 36 104 Totals 108 54 3.11 162 162 46 1484.0 1304 509 1083

PLAYOFF AVERAGESBOSTON RED SOX

BATTERS AB R H 2B 3B HR BI AVG Stapleton 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 .667 Greenwell 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 .500 Owen 21 5 9 0 1 0 3 .429 Barrett 30 4 11 2 0 0 5 .367 Gedman 28 4 10 1 0 1 5 .357 Baylor 26 6 9 1 0 1 2 .346 Boggs 30 3 7 1 1 0 2 .233 Evans 28 2 6 1 0 1 4 .214 Buckner 28 3 6 1 0 0 3 .214 Rice 31 8 5 1 0 2 6 .161 Armas 16 1 2 1 0 0 0 .125 Henderson 9 3 1 0 0 1 4 .111 Totals 254 41 69 9 2 6 34 .272

PITCHERS G IP H R ER BB SO ERA Crawford (1-0) 1 1.2 1 0 0 2 1 0.00 Sambito 3 0.2 1 0 0 1 0 0.00 Schiraldi (0-1) 4 6.0 5 2 1 3 9 1.50 Hurst (1-0) 2 15 18 5 4 1 8 2.40 Clemens (1-1) 3 22.2 22 12 11 7 17 4.46 Boyd (1-1) 2 13.2 17 7 7 3 8 4.61 Stanley 3 5.2 7 4 3 3 1 4.77 Totals 7 65.1 71 30 26 20 44 3.59

NEW YORK METS

BATTERS AB R H 2B 3B HR BI AVG Dykstra 23 3 7 1 1 1 3 .304 Hernandez 26 3 7 1 1 0 3 .269 Mitchell 8 1 2 0 0 0 0 .250 Heep 4 0 1 0 0 0 1 .250 Backman 21 5 5 0 0 0 2 .238 Strawberry 22 4 5 1 0 2 5 .227 Mazzilli 5 0 1 0 0 0 0 .200 Santana 17 0 3 0 0 0 0 .176 Knight 24 1 4 0 0 0 2 .167 Teufel 6 0 1 0 0 0 0 .167 Carter 27 1 4 1 0 0 2 .148 Wilson 26 2 3 0 0 0 1 .115 Ojeda 5 1 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Gooden 5 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Elster 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Johnson 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 McDowell 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Darling 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Fernandez 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Orosco 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Aguilera 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Sisk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 .000 Totals 227 21 43 4 2 3 19 .189

PITCHERS G IP H R ER BB SO ERA McDowell 2 7.0 1 0 0 0 3 0.00 Aguilera 2 5.0 2 1 0 2 2 0.00 Sisk 1 1.0 1 0 0 1 0 0.00 Gooden (0-1) 2 17.0 16 2 2 5 9 1.06 Ojeda (1-0) 2 14.0 15 4 4 4 6 2.57 Orosco (3-0) 4 8.0 5 3 3 2 10 3.38 Fernandez (0-1) 1 6.0 3 3 3 1 5 4.50 Darling 1 5.0 6 4 4 2 5 7.20 Totals 6 63.0 49 17 16 17 40 2.29

THE ROSTERS

BOSTON RED SOX

Catchers 10 Gedman, Rich

15 Sullivan, Marc

Infielders 17 Barrett, Marty

20 Boggs, Wade

6 Buckner, Bill

5 Owen, Spike

7 Romero, Ed

11 Stapleton, Dave

Outfielders 20 Armas, Tony

25 Baylor, Don

24 Evans, Dwight

39 Greenwell, Mike

40 Henderson, Dave

14 Rice, Jim

Pitchers 23 Boyd, Dennis

21 Clemens, Roger

28 Crawford, Steve

47 Hurst, Bruce

48 Lollar, Tim

49 Nipper, Al

43 Sambito, Joe

31 Schiraldi, Calvin

46 Stanley, Bob

53 Stewart, Sammy

NEW YORK METS

Catchers 8 Carter, Gary

49 Hearn, Ed

Infielders 6 Backman, Wally

2 Elster, Kevin

17 Hernandez, Keith

20 Johnson, Howard

22 Knight, Ray

7 Mitchell, Kevin

3 Santana, Rafael

11 Teufel, Tim

Outfielders 4 Dykstra, Len

25 Heep, Danny

13 Mazzilli, Lee

18 Strawberry, Darryl

1 Wilson, Mookie

Pitchers 38 Aguilera, Rick

12 Darling, Ron

50 Fernandez, Sid

16 Gooden, Dwight

42 McDowell, Roger

40 Niemann, Randy

19 Ojeda, Bob

47 Orosco, Jesse

39 Sisk, Doug